Borrowing Books from the Diverse BookFinder Collection

The Diverse BookFinder is housed at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. All books included in the collection are available to borrow via interlibrary loan. Depending on where you are, there are three ways to check out our books:

Borrowing directly from Bates (CBBCat)

Anyone with a Bates College ID or community card can borrow books directly from Ladd Library. Come visit us and browse the collection directly. All book records in the Diverse BookFinder search link directly to CBBCat, the Bates library catalog, showing call numbers and availability.

Borrowing within Maine (MaineCat)

Libraries within the State of Maine are connected via a shared catalog called MaineCat. You can connect to MaineCat from a CBBCat book record to see what other libraries own the book or submit an interlibrary loan request for a book with your local library card.

Borrowing nationwide (WorldCat)

If your local library is connected to WorldCat, you can request books from libraries around the country. Bates is committed to interlibrary loan and we make our books available nationwide. Your library can get books for you from other libraries connected to the WorldCat network. Within a book record, your library may have a direct request option or you can see what libraries in your area participate in ILL.

If none of this makes sense, simply visit your local library and ask how to use interlibrary loan. Not every library is connected to the national network. If you want to know if your local library participates in ILL, check this directory from WorldCat.

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